All Together Now

All Together Now

TESTING MONDAY
Unless we get pushed back by an emergency situation, Reiss will be the second case on Monday in the cath lab and CT Scan room. They anticipate that she will start her list of procedures between 9a and 11a.

CT Scan
The CT Scan will allow all three services – ENT, Pulmonology and Cardiology – to get a better overall look of her heart and lungs.Estimated time: 15 min.

Catheter
This will show similar information as the CT Scan, but will allow the doctors to get readings on pressures and dimensions of vessels. Additionally, if something needs intervention (ie, collaterals, stent in pulmonary artery, etc), they can do those at the same time.

Looking towards the next surgery: the cath will also give the cardiologist a better look at how her heart has developed since her open heart surgery in Aug of 2013. We had already planned on a cardiologist appointment in Springfield this week to get a detailed picture of Reiss’s heart to send to St Louis to talk about where to go from here. If she does end up needing a surgery this year, they would do it before the flu/cold season hit. Hopefully, we will also get a better idea of if they want to go with the Fontan or “re-plumb” her heart to pump as it should.Estimated time: 60 min

Ridged Scope of the Trachea
The ENT team will take a ridged scope – like the ENT doctor in Springfield has already done – into Reiss’s airway. They will be looking at the area that was cauterized on Wednesday to make sure it does not need any intervention. They will also be looking for additional lesions or irritations that may need to be cauterized.Estimated time: 15 min

Bronchial Scope
They will use flexible scope to view the smaller bronchi of her lungs. They are looking for bleeding, infection, mucous, or any other kind of irritation. If they see any type of infection, they can squirt some saline into her lungs at that time, then suck it back out for a biopsy.Estimated time: 15 min

In all, including prepping Reiss, anesthesia and moving between tests, the whole thing should take approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes. If they need any intervention on any of the tests, this could be longer.

RECOVERY TIME
Even if they have to place a stent in her pulmonary artery, the recovery time for the procedures on Monday is relatively short. The cardiologist estimated we would be able to go home Tuesday